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Margaret Harwood (March 19, 1885 February 6, 1979) was an American
After graduating college, she worked at the
Littleton astronomer Margaret Harwood remembered for achievementsPapers of Margaret Harwood, 1891-1971.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Margaret 1885 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American scientists 20th-century American women scientists American women astronomers Burials in Massachusetts Harvard College Observatory people People from Littleton, Massachusetts Radcliffe College alumni Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy University of California alumni
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
specializing in photometry Photometry can refer to:
* Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision
* Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electro ...
and the first director of the Maria Mitchell Observatory
The Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 1908 and named in honor of Maria Mitchell, the first American woman astronomer. It is a major component of the Maria Mitchell Association. The Observatory actually c ...
in Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. An asteroid discovered in 1960 was named 7040 Harwood
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...
in her honor.
Early life and education
Margaret Harwood was born in 1885 inLittleton, Massachusetts
Littleton (historically Nipmuc: ''Nashoba'') is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,141 at the 2020 census.
For geographic and demographic information on the neighborhood of Littleton Common, please se ...
, one of nine children of Herbert Joseph Harwood and Emelie Augusta Green. In 1907 she received her AB from Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...
, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
. In 1916, she earned her AM from the University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
.
Career
After graduating college, she worked at the Harvard Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...
and taught in private schools in the Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
area. In 1912, an astronomical fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
was created for women to work at Maria Mitchell Observatory
The Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA, was founded in 1908 and named in honor of Maria Mitchell, the first American woman astronomer. It is a major component of the Maria Mitchell Association. The Observatory actually c ...
; Harwood was the first recipient of the fellowship, receiving $1,000. In 1916, at 30 years old, Harwood was named director of Mitchell Observatory, and worked there until her retirement in 1957.
Her specialty, photometry, involved measuring variation in the light of stars
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
and asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
, and she applied it particularly to that of the small planet 433 Eros. A member of the American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
(Whatever shines should be observed)
, predecessor =
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, she traveled widely in Europe and the United States. In 1923, she became the first woman to gain access to the Mount Wilson Observatory
The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles.
The observat ...
, and in 1924 was the first woman allowed to use the observatory's 60-inch telescope
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...
, the largest in the world at the time.
In 1917, she discovered the asteroid 886 Washingtonia
886 Washingtonia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on 16 November 1917, from Washington, D.C. and is named after the 1st President of the United States, George Washington.
Discovery circumstances
Credit for the discovery of 88 ...
four days before its formal recognition by George Henry Peters
George Henry Peters (1863–October 18, 1947) was a US astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets.
He worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory as an astrophotographer, discovering three asteroids and photographing the Sun's corona
Corona (fro ...
. At the time, "senior people around her advised her not to report it as a new discovery because it was inappropriate that a woman should be thrust into the limelight with such a claim". However, Harwood did send her photographs of her discovery to Peters for him to include in his study of the asteroid's orbit. In 1960, an asteroid discovered at Palomar, was named in her honor, 7040 Harwood
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...
.
Harwood was a devoted Unitarian. She was a trustee of Nantucket Cottage Hospital and taught at MIT during World War II. She is buried at the Westlawn Cemetery in Littleton.
Honors
Harwood was the first woman to receive an honorary Ph.D. fromOxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. In 1960, 2642 P-L was discovered by Cornelis Johannes van Houten
Cornelis Johannes van Houten (18 February 1920 – 24 August 2002) was a Dutch astronomer, sometimes referred to as Kees van Houten.
Early life and education
Born in The Hague, he spent his entire career at Leiden University except for a brief pe ...
and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld
Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (; 21 October 1921 – 30 March 2015) was a Dutch astronomer.
Background
In a jointly credited trio with Tom Gehrels and her husband Cornelis Johannes van Houten, she was the discoverer of many thousands of astero ...
and named ''Harwood''. In 1962, she received the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy
The Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) to a woman resident of North America, who is within five years of receipt of a PhD, for distinguished contributions to astronomy or for similar ...
.
References
Further reading
* * * *External links
Littleton astronomer Margaret Harwood remembered for achievements
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Margaret 1885 births 1979 deaths 20th-century American scientists 20th-century American women scientists American women astronomers Burials in Massachusetts Harvard College Observatory people People from Littleton, Massachusetts Radcliffe College alumni Recipients of the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy University of California alumni